


Stars in the dark

by Nej_Illjuna



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Adrenaline, Adventure & Romance, Alternate Universe - High School, Childhood Friends, Delinquent!Minsung, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Jeongin must be protected at all costs, LITERALLY, M/M, Trapped In A Closet, soft boys having fun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-13
Updated: 2019-10-13
Packaged: 2020-12-14 09:23:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21013472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nej_Illjuna/pseuds/Nej_Illjuna
Summary: Jeongin failed at his last exam, and Jisung and Minho intend to do something about it, Mission:Impossible style.





	Stars in the dark

Jisung looked at a lonely boy from afar, hidden behind a high hedge. He was seated at a wooden table, in the middle of the few trees adorning the side of the parking lot. Their high school had a few green spaces like this, and Jeongin always liked to hang around those, so he knew exactly where to search for him. In silence, he sneaked around him, making sure he didn’t notice him. An easy task, seeing as he rested his head on his folded arms, brow on the faded wood. Regardless, he proceeded with caution, and when he was at an arm’s length, jumped ruthlessly on his back, making him squeal in surprise.

“JEONGIN ! Let’s eat !!” he screamed in his ear, right before the wind was knocked out of him, a heavy weight settling on his back.

“Let’s eat faster !!” said Minho, securing his grip on Jisung’s shoulders, his voice almost drowned out by Jeongin’s loud whine.

“Let me go already ! I’m really not in a good mood right now !”

Jisung straightened up a bit, letting Minho circle his hips with his legs to piggyback him. He didn’t see his face, his chin digging in his shoulder, but he could almost feel his brows furrow. Jeongin quickly smiled, but it was the wrong kind of smile, like the one he made when he got rejected last summer. 

“Something wrong ?” Minho asked, slowly sliding down.

“I don’t want to talk about it”, Jeongin asserted, turning back to the table.

Now, this was concerning. The two looked at each other, confused.

“Hey, hey”, called Jisung, grabbing Minho’s thighs to readjust him with a little jump. “You know you can talk to us, right ?”

“Yeah, we’re here for you if you need something. I’ll even give you a discount- ouch !”

“We’ve already helped you before”, insisted Jisung, the hand he used to pinch the thigh enclosing him being promptly swatted away. “Come on, tell us what’s wrong.”

Jeongin groaned, and Jisung dragged himself to sit in front of him. Before he could sit down, Minho dropped down and took his place, grabbing him to make him sit on his legs. Jisung, used to the manhandling, simply got comfortable, bending over the table to ruffle the younger’s hair.

“Seriously, did something happen ? We won’t make fun of you this time if it’s that bad. We got your back, you know.”

Jeongin smiled widely, and he was so close to crying that Jisung wanted to punch something. Judging by the tightening of the arms around his waist, he wasn’t the only one affected. They had been protecting the kid for years, ever since he rescued one of Minho’s cats that had been following him to school, and they had seen their fair share of cruelty towards him. Somehow, he seemed to always have the worst luck when it came to people. Maybe that was why they were the only ones to hang out with him, or maybe nobody his age wanted to talk to him because he was close with delinquents. That point was unclear to them. What was clear, however, was that if you messed with Jeongin, you messed with them. And after a few years of their protection, nobody bothered him anymore. At least that’s what they thought.

“It’s fine, really”, denied weakly Jeongin, shaking his head, his sad smile still in place.

“It’s clearly not, so just spit it out already”, intervened Minho. His hands absentmindedly raked Jisung’s thighs, and that was just distracting enough for him to quickly look back. Minho pouted at him with a look of absolute innocence, and there were things more important right now, so Jisung tried to forget about it.

Jeongin looked at his hands, faltering. Finally, he sighed, defeated.

“It’s really not that much”, he smiled, and Jisung was ready to go on another rant about how it was, but he kept going. “It’s just, I had a really big exam this morning… but I stayed up too late yesterday to try to remember all of the formulas and… I kind of… Slept through the test.”

Jisung blinked, flabbergasted, and Minho voiced his inner confusion.

“You  _ what  _ ?! You ? You’ve never taken a nap during class, not even when the spanish substitute put on that weird movie ! You’re like, the most serious guy I know.”

Jeongin laughed faintly, his tears swelling, and Jisung slapped the wood with all his might.

“Yep. That’s it. We’re stealing the tests. No tests to grade, no bad mark on your report. Let’s do this.”

“What ?!” almost screamed Jeongin. “No, don’t !”

“How ?” asked Minho, releasing him from his arms when he got up.

“I’ll make up a plan”, he decided, adamant. “Jeongin, what classroom, what teacher, when ?”

“I- uh, at eleven with Ms. Kim, and it was… classroom 215.”

“So they must be either still there, or with her in the break room. Minho, go find if she has class in the same room next. I’ll check if some teachers are still in the hallways or some classrooms. Find me at the entrance in five.”

“Got it partner”, said Minho with a bright smile, giving him a high five before making a beeline towards a group of students to find intel.

“Please don’t do something so dangerous, it’s really not that bad”, insisted Jeongin, but every hope had been lost the moment he didn’t follow their cries for lunch.

“Aaw, why are you so cute for”, he cooed, tickling him under his chin. “Don’t worry about us, just go to eat and sleep for a bit before your next period. We’re taking care of it whether you like it or not so you might as well relax a bit.”

Jeongin huffed, pushing him away, but still thanked him under his breath when he went away for his own mission.

Minho and himself would have done a lot for the boy, but it wasn’t such an inconvenience for them either. They had done way more questionable things in all their years of mischief. Granted, Jisung was the worse of the duo, and had definitely “dragged Minho down”, as his parents put it. He still remembered how different he was when he first met him in elementary school, shy, soft-spoken and a heart of gold. He kept that last one, because as far as Jisung was concerned, Minho had always been the nicest, most beautiful soul he’d ever met. Nothing, not even Jeongin could make him say otherwise. But he had loosened up, took more risks, and was overall way happier. His smiles always made his eyes shine, and with every year, they became even brighter. Sometimes, he wondered at the back of his head if it would keep going, if it was even possible. Every time he thought that was it, nothing could beat the crushing beauty of his joy, and yet he was proven wrong again and again.

Jisung blinked, coming back to his senses, at the gates of the school. His mind drifted more often than not towards these ideas. He wasn’t sure why. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to  _ know  _ why. What they had was comfortable, and that was all that mattered to him for now. They had known each other for so long, grew up together. And there had been hard times here and there, but they always knew that in the end they would always be there for each other. That certainty was so powerful, he didn’t remember what it was like not to have him to fall back on.

No, that was a lie. He did remember. Because as much as he dragged Minho down, Minho pulled him up. Every single time he fell. And he fell a lot. He would like to say that he had been as likable as him back then, but it couldn’t be further from the truth. They had a huge falling out a few years ago, and that made him realise a lot of things. Things he changed. They didn’t start at the same place, but they somehow managed, with time, to meet in the middle. A middle where they felt more at home, where it felt right when nothing else was.

And so what if sometimes their hugs were a bit too tight, even for them. What if sometimes he caught himself staring at his blinding smile. What if sometimes it was his own chest that was too tight when Minho fell asleep on him, spread on the floor, papers scattered around them because he had tried to help him get his passing grade. That was nothing compared to how important Minho was. To him, and in a more absolute way. He would never say it to his face, but he would take on the world for him. Even if it meant he would lose.

“If you’re spacing out like that, we’re already done for”, said Minho, putting an arm on his shoulders, making him jump.

“You scared me”, Jisung smiled, punching him playfully on the stomach.

“Great, that will keep your blood pumping”, he declared, grabbing his wrist to block his attack. “Is the field clear ?”

“Clearer than my future. There’s just that one dude in 103, and the first floor on the right part isn’t safe, but nobody is moving. As long as we go up by the left, we’re fine. You know where her stuff is ?”

“I’ve heard from a student on clean up duty that she left her bag in the classroom. She has a class here after lunch break, so that checks out. She should be in the break room until then, we’ve got a bit of time before us.”

Minho didn’t let go of his wrist, nor his shoulders. It was normal for them, but then again, it didn’t really feel like it.

“Let’s go save Jeongin’s scholarship”, declared Jisung, and with that they went together up the emergency ladder to slither in by their usual entrance, hidden by a tree.

The faint sound of their feets hitting the tiled floor echoed in the empty hallway. Jisung took Minho’s hand, intertwining their fingers. His heartbeat was starting to pick up the pace. They quickly motioned for the next step - get to the stairs, go up, get in the classroom - before they started moving in silence, staying close to the walls.

There was something ominous about an empty school hall. It wasn’t their first excursion at forbidden times, but the tension didn’t wear off so easily. In here, every sound, as distant as it was, meant trouble and required quick thinking.

They reached the middle stairs, stopping there to make sure the road was safe. Sure, Jisung had been verifying who was inside, but the situation was always evolving and they couldn’t be in control of every variable. So Jisung let go of his hand, climbed up the first row of stairs until the U-turn, sticking out his head just enough to check if they were truly alone. He turned back to signal him the coast was clear, only to find him gazing at him with a lazy smile, his eyes half closed, head tilted as if he was intrigued of very, very interested. Jisung swallowed, his eyes darting around before motionning him to come. It wasn’t the right time to get stunned by his partner in crime. Minho joined him in perfect silence, his hand flowing seamlessly into his.

Once on the right floor, they quickly found classroom 215. With a last look around them, they opened the door, and there it was, the leather briefcase Ms. Kim used. A victorious fistbump later, they were inside.

Minho stayed by the door, on the lookout for anything dangerous, while Jisung dived into the bag, quickly going through the files. He thought a huge stack of paper would be immediately recognizable, but he severely misjudged the content of the bag belonging to a teacher that loved to give handouts. Nervous, he thumbed at every corner of paper that seemed damaged, hoping to find a messy student. He almost jumped with joy when he found a batch of tests, but it wasn’t the right year.

“Oh, come on”, he whispered, frustrated.

“I hear footsteps”, whispered back Minho. “Another floor but it’s getting closer.”

“Come on, come on”, he muttered, going faster in the neverending papers. “Please don’t do this to me.”

“It’s in the stairs”, said Minho through his teeth, putting up his hood. “We gotta go.”

“I just need to- yeees let’s run !!”

Jisung seized the bundle of papers containing Jeongin’s and ran to the door. He barely had the time to hear Minho let out a “too late”, and then they were both rushing through the hallway, a scream shattering the silence behind them. They flew down the hall, ignoring the demands that they stop this instant, finally getting to the stairs where they used their speed and the handrail to jump over the majority of the rows under them. Jisung got down first, quickly evaluating his options. They had been fast enough not to have been recognized by the intruder, but if they tried to get to their escape with their current advance, they would have been caught, just not on the spot. The only other option was… Hiding.

Fast like a flash, he grabbed Minho’s arm that just landed and yanked him to the side opposite of what he was going for. Quickly adapting, he followed him to the closest classroom and let himself get thrown inside. Jisung carefully closed the door, praying that the adult getting down the stairs was to distracted by their own shouts to hear it.

“Jisung ! Quick !”

He looked back to see Minho, one foot inside the closet at he back of the room, a hand stretched out to invite him. Jisung sprinted to him, slotting himself on the narrow space, and Minho closed the door behind him. Only a thin ray of light allowed them to see, and something sharp was poking at his back even though he was pressed against Minho, but it was better than being in the open.

Their heavy breathing was incredibly loud to Jisung’s ears, and he tried to make himself more silent, without great success. In the hallway, confused but very angry footsteps ran around, probably checking the straicases and not having any luck.

“Where did you go, you slippery eels ?!” screamed the muffled voice.

Jisung giggled, and Minho slapped a hand on his mouth, shushing him with a finger against his own lips, hardly containing his own laughter. That was it, thought Jisung, and he was sure of it this time. This was the most beautiful he would ever look. The full smile scrunching up his face, the hair packed a little by the sweat from their rush, and his eyes, holding a thousand stars shining at him. A whole universe he could see despide the darkness, the adrenaline, the closeness.

That day, deep inside him, something shattered and would never be the same.

A door slammed open, and Minho yelped, surprised, so Jisung mimicked him and muffled his voice with the hand that wasn’t busy holding the stolen tests. Judging by the sound of their hunter, he wasn’t in their classroom yet, but it was only a matter of time. Jisung’s heart was in his throat, desperately trying to calm down his breathing. He didn’t expect Minho to grab his hand, freeing his mouth for an instant.

“It’s gonna be fine”, he breathed, kissing his fingers in a strangely intimate way. “Don’t worry.”

After that, he put his hand back where it was, and Jisung’s mouth was dry. Because of the tension, be it coming from inside or outside the closet. All he knew was that his hand was tingling when the door to their room got opened, and they held their breaths, perfectly frozen. The footsteps got closer, and they both felt the other sharply inhale. Jisung saw Minho’s eyes following something by the slight opening between the panels. A wrong move, and they were done for. Stealing actual tests from a teacher’s belongings in a classroom they had no business being in wasn’t a small offense. The seconds felt like hours, and when the threat finally left the classroom, they were nearing total asphyxiation.

They let their hands drop from their faces, allowing themselves to pant again, this time more because of stress than exhaustion. Minho let his head hang on Jisung’s shoulder, taking a deep breath to calm himself, before snorting and letting a chuckle escape him. Jisung instantly followed him, trying to reach his mouth again without knocking something over by accident.

“Shhh, you can’t, you can’t, he’s not gone yet !” he whispered, feverish, ignoring the fact that he was doing exactly the same thing.

Minho tried to stifle his laughter, pressing his face on the side of Jisung’s neck. He was grabbing him like he would fall without his support, even though he was more or less pinned against the closet’s wall. Jisung’s hand naturally went to the back of his head, playing with the short hair there. He wasn’t expecting Minho to straighten up again, putting a finger on his lips out of nowhere.

“You can’t either then”, he said with a sly mile.

Jisung considered him, stroked him right behind his ear with his hand still on his nape. Then, he kissed the finger against his lips. Instead of removing it, Minho made it travel to his chin, along his jaw, going back up to his cheekbones, until his whole cheek was gently covered by his warm hand. He wasn’t smiling anymore.

They stayed like that, the noises around them dying out and being replaced by their breaths fanning each other. Jisung tried to angle Minho’s head, just to see if he could, and he was so pliant it knotted something in his stomach, some kind of shiver coursing through him.

“I think they’re gone now. We should go”, Jisung whispered, against everything his instincts were shouting him to say.

“Yeah, we should”, agreed Minho, and Jisung was almost disappointed, but no one moved. They were in danger, in a very uncomfortable dark closet made too warm and damp by their stress, and nobody made a move to go.

Jisung saw Minho briefly close his eyes before licking his lips, and somehow, Jisung felt the need to do it too. Everything was just so dry. Minho creeped a hand under his shirt, resting idly on his thin waist, and it felt so different from all the other times he held him like that. It was different, and there wasn’t any smile but he could still see the stars in his eyes, so he finally listened to his gut feeling and closed off the few centimeters separating them, pressing his lips against his.

Minho hummed lowly against him, adjusting his hands to hold his face better, and Jisung started to question if this was nothing but an elaborate dream his brain had made up after he ate something funny. But then Minho slightly opened his mouth to let out a kitten lick, and no, he could’ve never imagined something so nerve-wracking. He slid a trembling hand between them, crumpling the test sheets, absolutely wrecked, and tugged softly at his hair to deepen the kiss. Minho meowed between his lips, pushing himself against his body, as if they weren’t already forced one against the other. Jisung’s breath hitched when he discovered the taste of his tongue, and the hand under his shirt stroke his stomach-

“BLONK-KLANG !!”

They jolted in unison, brutally sobered up by the metal jar of pencil that someone just knocked down. They stared at each other, bewildered, suddenly remembering where they were.

“Run ?” suggested Minho.

“Run”, approved Jisung.

And without any more discussion, they bolted out of the closet, ignoring the cool air that hit them, going straight to the hallway, not even bothering to check if someone was around. In the blink of an eye, they were out, trying to catch their breath on the grass not far from where they met with Jeongin earlier. They were spread on the ground, their loot carefully hidden away in Jisung’s backpack - it was his idea, because if it was found, he would take the blame. He didn’t say it aloud, because he knew Minho would have protested, and he knew for a fact that he would always turn himself in if he was found alone, but he felt better this way. If he had a chance to keep him safe, even a little…

He looked at him, and Minho noticed, turning his head to face him, a huge smile blooming on his face. Something settled inside of Jisung.

“I don’t know about you, but I see this adventure as an absolute win”, said Minho, laughing a little.

“Rarely has a victory felt so rewarding”, agreed Jisung, his heart still fluttering, and he couldn’t really pretend it was because of the race anymore.

“We should do this more often”, he mused.

“They would start to put camera surveillance though. I mean real ones, not just the ones for show they put up last year.”

“I wasn’t talking about the theft.”

Jisung chuckled, breathless.

“My place or your place ? Mine, right ?”

Minho giggled, kicking him in the shin and rolling to the side to fit himself against him, his head on his chest, like usual, but something shifted. Jisung threaded his fingers through his hair, giving up in front of his desire to touch, and Minho sighed, happy. What they had was comfortable, but this felt right, too.

Maybe they could give it a try.

**Author's Note:**

> It wasn't supposed to be so soft but I can't help it fluff is my true calling  
Leave a comment if you'd like to ! Thanks for reading ! :)


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